Data released Friday by the New York Police Department (NYPD) shows that 81 percent of coronavirus enforcement summonses from March 16 to May 5 were issued to black and Latino residents.
“Of the 374 summonses issued in regard to social distancing, the respondents for 193 of those summonses are black and the respondents for 11 of those summonses are Hispanic,” an NYPD press release said.
“It’s the new form of stop-and-frisk,” Melissa Mark-Viverito, the former New York City Council Speaker and current congressional candidate for New York’s 15th district, told Newsweek. “We went through this battle with stop-and-frisk, of the disproportionate enforcement and over-criminalizing of our communities. It’s a mentality that continues to permeate, but unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise me.”
By Adrian Carrasquillo, Newsweek
Featured Image, A New York City Police officer (NYPD) wears protective gear, while monitoring people waiting in line to be tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outside Elmhurst Hospital Center in the Queens borough of New York City. © Reuters
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